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“The Name of the Place”

There is just something about this entire outdoor kitchen idea that gets my blood pumping. Truthfully, a guy can get by just fine with a barbecue and a cooler full of iced beer, which I know full well because it has always worked just fine for me. But that said, there is something to the idea of doing elaborate meals outdoors and serving them to friends and family in more formal circumstances, doing it simply because one can. We spent a rather large amount on a teak table and chairs for just that reason, and when we have been able to really lay things out, it has always been something that, despite the work involved, is just a privilege to do. In a sense, I think, it’s a lot like Thanksgiving.

My wife and I remember a couple of Thanksgiving meals (the absolute first one being one that holds a particularly prominent place in the old Hall of Shame) that did not go as planned. But there was also the time a few years ago when she worked the front, taking care of our guests, and old Army cook me worked the kitchen. And that one time when I was in the zone, I have to tell you, everything I did that day came out right on the money. Everyone raved, but the people who raved most were me and my wife, because we never lie to each other on this sort of thing. If we dropped the ball, then it’s dropped, and we have a discussion as to how to avoid dropping it the next time around. But this one shining moment, man, what a satisfaction that was, and I say that even though both of us had a sore back after we finished the cleanup some hours after our guests left. But that was some mighty satisfying beer at the end of the evening, I can tell you.

But I bring that up because I honestly feel the same way about backyard masterpieces. It’s just that with only a barbecue, one is somewhat limited in what one can prepare. Whereas if I had an actual kitchen back there, the sky would pretty much be the limit, right? And with that I can turn to the subject of today’s blog.

I have said many times that writing these blogs for two years plus has been a real education, and one of the things I most enjoy is learning about companies I either did not know at all or knew only as a name. In that regard I have to say that Electrolux is rapidly becoming one of my favorite companies to write about, simply because they are forever on the cutting edge. Some time back I wrote a blog on a kitchen concept they call, with abundant reason, the Live-In Room (here is a link to it, if you’re interested), but since then I have had occasion to do a number of blogs on their various product lines, both because of the product itself and because of the wonderful design standpoint Electrolux always seems to take with the things they do.

This time round Electrolux has teamed up with Jamie Durie, who is a landscape designer, to put together an Outdoor Kitchen that is especially well designed, probably because of where they started the design process, with an emphasis on form as well as function, always remembering, no doubt, that form must always follow function, but remembering, too, that function need not dictate a stodgy form. Mr. Durie is a strong advocate of the concept of the Outdoor Room, and he shares the Electrolux passion to redefine outdoor entertaining.

“Australia has had a long standing love affair with outdoor entertaining,” says Mr. Durie, “so it was important to redefine that space in respect to modern demands when designing The Outdoor Kitchen. We wanted something that would stylistically push the parameters of outdoor design and alfresco luxury whilst still keeping in harmony with garden elements.”

It’s a truly exciting concept, as can be seen by the pictures that accompany this. What they wanted to accomplish-and did, I think-is to produce an engineered green entertaining area, as opposed to simply placing furniture in the backyard. They even went so far as to incorporate eco-friendly materials and greenery and plant life as an integral part of the design itself. The idea is to make it an attractive extension of one’s home by creating an area where people want to go. Staycations seem to be all the rage these days, and what better place then your own backyard? I don’t know about you, but I like it like that.